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Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Andrew Irving (born March 23, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). Irving was born in Melbourne, Australia but grew up in West Orange, New Jersey. He played collegiately at Duke University before being selected with the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Cavaliers. Since being in the NBA, Irving has achieved a number of accolades including being the 2011–12 NBA Rookie of the Year and the 2014 NBA All-Star game MVP. Early Life Irving was born on March 23, 1992 in Melbourne, Australia.2 He is the son of Dredrick and Elizabeth Irving and the step-son of Shetellia Irving. He has an older sister, Asia, and a younger sister, London. His father played for Boston Universitythen went on to play professional basketball in Australia for the Bulleen Boomers. Irving lived in the Melbourne suburb of Kew before relocating to the United States when he was two years old. He has dual citizenship in the United States and Australia. Irving's mother, Elizabeth, died from an illness when he was four, so Drederick raised him with the help of Irving's aunts. He grew up in West Orange, New Jersey, where he often went to his dad's adult-league games. His inspiration to play in the NBA came after playing at Continental Airlines Arena during a school trip in fourth grade where he stated "I will play in the NBA, I promise." As a teenager, Irving played for the Road Runners of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). High School Irving played for Montclair Kimberley Academy his freshman and sophomore years in high school. He averaged 26.5 points, 10.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 3.6 steals and became only the school's 2nd 1,000 point scorer. In his sophomore year, he led MKA to its first New Jersey Prep 'B' state title.79 After that year, he transferred to St. Patrick High School because he felt he needed a bigger challenge.7 He had to sit out the first 30 games of St. Patrick's season due to the transfer.9 While at St. Patrick, Irving played with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who was widely regarded as one of the best players in the class of 2011.1011 In his first season at St. Patrick, Irving averaged 17.0 ppg., 5.0 rpg., 6.0 apg. and 2.0 spg. He also led his team to their third New Jersey Tournament of Champions title in four years. In August 2009, he played in the Nike Global Challenge in which he led the USA East to the tournament title. He was the MVP with 21.3 ppg. and 4.3 apg8 The following year, St. Patrick was banned from the state tournament for holding practice prior to the permitted start of the winter sports season.812 Despite being banned from the state tournament, St. Patrick went 24-3 and won the Union County Tournament championship. Kyrie finished his senior year with 24.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg. and 7.0 apg.8 In his two years at St. Patrick, he lettered twice.4 On January 19, 2010, Irving was selected to the 2010 Junior National Select Team. The team played at the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, on April 10.813 He was also selected to play in the 2010 McDonald's All-American Game and the 2010 Jordan Brand Classic, where he was named as co-MVP with Harrison Barnes.1415 In June 2010 Irving was a part of the United States gold medal winning team at the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship.16 Irving was the #2 player in the class of 2010 by Scout.com,17 #3 player in the ESPNU 100,18 and rated as the #4 player by Rivals.com.19 In addition, he was ranked #1 among point guards by ESPNU in 2010.20 College career Irving committed to Duke on October 22, 2009, in a television broadcast on ESPNU.21 Irving played with Duke during the 2010–11 basketball season under the guidance of head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Through the first eight games of the season, he averaged 17.4 points per game on 53.2% shooting, 5.1 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals. He was quickly making his case for NCAA Freshman of the Year but in Duke's 9th game of the season, Irving suffered a severe ligament injury in his right big toe that sidelined him indefinitely.22 On March 17, the day before Duke played Hampton in the first round of the NCAA tournament, it was revealed that Irving would return for his first game since December 4.2324 Duke advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament but would fall to Arizona. Irving scored 28 points in what turned out to be his last game for Duke College statistics Professional career Cleveland Cavaliers Rookie year (2011–12) Irving announced that he would forgo his final three seasons of eligibility and enter the 2011 NBA Draft, where he was selected 1st overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Irving signed a contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers alongside rookie teammate Tristan Thompson on December 10, 2011. Both Irving and Thompson were named to the 2012 Rising Stars Challenge. However, Irving played for Team Chuck, while Thompson played for Team Shaq. Irving scored 34 points in the game, earning MVP honors. For the season, Irving won the 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year Award, receiving 117 of a possible 120 first-place votes. He was also the only unanimous selection to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.For the season, Irving averaged 18.5 points, 5.4 assists and shot .469 from the field and .399 on three-pointers, while missing 15 games due to injury. However, the Cavaliers failed to make the playoffs and concluded the season with a 21-45 record. In a Las Vegas-based Cavaliers practice on July 14, 2012, Irving sustained a broken right hand after reportedly slapping it against a padded wall after committing a turnover. "I am a little disappointed," remarked Irving. "I have to be more responsible about my health. It was just crazy. It happened so fast." It was announced that Irving would require surgery on July 18 to repair the hand. First All-Star Season (2012–13) At the start of the 2012–13 NBA season, Irving injured his index finger in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks. While he did play in the Cavaliers' next game, Irving's injury forced him to miss three weeks of action. In his second game back, while donning a black protective face mask to protect a broken bone he suffered against Milwaukee, Irving scored his then-career-high 41 points against the New York Knicks. He became the youngest player in NBA history to score 40 points in Madison Square Garden — he was a year younger than Michael Jordan when Jordan did it in 1985. Irving was selected by the coaches to play in his first All-Star game. He finished with 15 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds. He also participated in the Rising Stars Challenge again, scoring 32 points for Team Shaq in a losing effort.In his first appearance in the NBA Three-Point Shootout, Irving recorded 23 points in the final round to win the 2013 NBA Three-Point Shootout trophy. Irving ended his sophomore campaign with averages of 22.5 points, 5.9 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. 2013–14 season Irving was voted by the fans to be the starting point guard for the Eastern Conference in the 2014 NBA All-Star game. Irving went on to win the 2014 NBA All-Star game MVP with 31 points and 14 assists in a 163-155 win for the East. On February 28, 2014, Irving recorded his first career triple double with 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in a 99-79 win over the Utah Jazz. This was also the Cavaliers' first triple double since March 16, 2010.He averaged 20.8 points, 6.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.5 steals on the season. 2014–15 season On July 10, 2014, Irving signed a five-year, $90 million contract extension with the Cavaliers. His contract extension came in the wake of LeBron James' return to Cleveland and Kevin Love's trade request from Minnesota, as the trio teamed up to start a new "Big Three" in Cleveland. Despite a shaky start to the season in which they fell to a record of 5-7 after a loss on November 22 to Toronto, the Cavaliers went on an eight-game winning streak with the help of Irving as he averaged 19.3 points per game over the streak, including a 37-point game against the New York Knicks on December 4. Following their loss on December 11 to Oklahoma City which ended their streak, the Cavaliers went on to win just five more games in December as they finished 2014 with a record of 18-14. All three of the newly-dubbed "Big Three" missed time during December, contributing to team's inconsistency and mediocre play despite the high expectations. The Cavaliers began their 2015 schedule on January 2 as they snapped a three-game losing streak with the help of Irving. He scored 23 points, and with Love's 27, the Cavaliers defeated the Charlotte Hornets, 91-87.49 However, in a season-low game for Irving the following game against Dallas on January 4, he scored just six points before leaving the game in the third quarter with lower back tightness, as the Cavaliers went on to lose, 90-109.50 He subsequently missed the next game against Philadelphia before returning to action on January 7 against Houston to tie a then first half career-high of 23 points. He finished the game with a then season-high 38 points but could not lead the Cavaliers to a win as they lost 93-105, the team's seventh loss in nine games.51 After another losing streak spanning six games between January 4 and January 13 dropped them to a record of 19-20, Irving and James led the Cavaliers on a 12-game winning streak to bring them back into contention. During the streak, Irving averaged 24.5 points per game, including scoring a career-high 55 points on January 28 against Portland.48His eleven three-pointers against Portland set a Cavaliers franchise record while his 55 points were the second most points scored in Cavaliers history (behind James' 56), and the most points scored in a home game for a Cavaliers player, as well as the most points scored in Quicken Loans Arena history. His 28 first half points also set a new career-high for points in a half. International career Irving was a member of the USA basketball team that competed in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. He helped lead Team USA to the gold medal and was subsequently named tournament MVP. He started all nine games in the tournament, averaging 12.1 points and 3.6 assists including 26 points in the gold-medal game. Irving was then named the 2014 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year. NBA career statistics Regular season Personal life He enjoys reading and keeping a journal. He also likes to sing, dance, and play the baritone sax. His godfather is former NBA player Rod Strickland. Irving has made a promise to his father that he would finish his bachelor's degree at Duke by taking classes during the next few summers. In 2012, he took on the role of "Uncle Drew" in a series of Pepsi Max advertisements.He wrote and directed episode 3, in which he starred alongside Nate Robinson and Maya Moore.In the same year, he appeared on an episode of the Disney XD series Kickin' It.He used to date Washington Mystics point guard Bria Hartley in high school. Awards and honors *2010 McDonald's All-American team selection *2010 Nike Hoop Summit All-American team selection *2010 Jordan Brand High School All-American team selection *2011 NBA Draft 1st Overall Draft Pick *2011–12 NBA Rookie of the Month, December, January, February, March *2012 Rising Stars Challenge MVP *2012 NBA Rookie of the Year Award *2012 NBA All-Rookie First Team *2013 Three-Point Shootout winner *2013 NBA All-Star * NBA Live 14 cover athlete *2014 NBA All-Star *2014 NBA All-Star Game MVP *2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup gold medalist *2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup MVP References External links * * ESPN.com Profile * Official Facebook Page * Duke Blue Devils bio * NBADraft.net profile * Scout.com Profile * Rivals.com profile * MaxPreps.com Profile Category:NBA players